LDB C5

I posted this in C5 tech, but I am not getting a very large response. Maybe the people here will have some more relevant infomration.

I am considering upgrading my suspension over the winter. I need to do a clutch, and I am swapping rear diffs, so I figured I may want to do the suspension at the same time. Mods & power levels in sig.

I am thinking about Pfadt coil overs and their street sway bar upgrades. I think I understand the advantages (you never know) but what about the disadvantages if any?

Thoughts? recommendations?

Thanks!

Solofast

What do you want to do with the car?

Suspension upgrades go from mild to really serious, to punishing on the street (and that holds doubly true for us up here in the northern climes where frost heaves and potholes are more commonplace)..

If you want to stiffen it up some and use the car on the street, the Z06 C5 springs, bars and shocks are more than fine and a lot less pricey than going to coil overs. Beyond that a set of stiffer bars are called for and perhaps a set of more aggressive shocks (like the Koni adjustables or Bilstiens).

Remember that you will feel more harshness from over stiffening the shocks, but bars will have more effect on the "percieved mushiness"...

Coilovers are pretty much a waste of money unless you are going for a serious road racing setup and want the ability to change springs for each track. If you can get the spring rates that you want there is no reason to go to coil overs. The stock Z06 C5 springs are really about as stiff as you want to go on the street anyway. Beyond that you are looking at a kidney belt as a traveling accessory if you properly match the springs and shocks...

LDB C5

I agree that you can easily go overboard as far as the "stiffness" goes. I would like to get into autocrossing and the accasional trip to the track.

I am very intrigued with the overall adjustability of the coilovers. I have driven several friends cars that have them and they were at least as comfortable to ride in as mine is now; maybe more so. However they handled much better than mine!

Independent1

If your goals are just to have some fun and improve the suspension some you could put on some C6 Z06 shocks, springs, and the C6 Z51 anti-rollbars for a whole lot less than the cost of the coilovers.

Here is a link to a thread you may find useful.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ight=shocks+c6

Aaron Pfadt

I think you are doing the correct thing in getting some opinions on the forums. Suspension and ride quality is very subjective. In the distant past coilovers were a Corvette suspension upgrade for the track only. However, at Pfadt we realize that most Corvette owners drive their cars on the street and track. Our coilovers are a great upgrade for a driver who is looking to improve the handling, but does not want a brutal ride. Coilovers are a shock and spring package and we firm up the car by adding spring rate, but keep the ride quality high by providing good damping. Damping plays a large roll in the harshness on the street. Our coilovers tend to be firm, allowing flatter cornering and quicker response, but not harsh. Much of the lack of harshness comes from our digressive compression damping in our shocks.

Our coilovers are also damping adjustable which allows for tuning not only the handling of the car, but also ride quality. Many customers will drive on a setting of 6 (of 16) on the street and stiffen the car up to 10 or 12 for an autocross or track day.

Our Pfadt Street sways make a nice companion to the coilovers because with the increased spring rate of the coilovers, the sway bars are not required to take as much load in cornering. The streets are a large increase in roll stiffness (~2x) to your stock bars but have very little downside in terms of ride quality. In fact, GM keeps stiffening up the sway bars on its performance suspension packages (FE3/FE4) because it is a good way to increase handling with little to no negative effect.

I suggest trying to track down a shop or a forum member that has Pfadt coilovers on their car and take it for a ride. I'm sure you will not be disappointed. They are designed for exactly the situation you describe. Feel free to call and talk to any of us here if you have more questions.

-Aaron